Space Lab winners to send their experiments into space

YouTube Space Lab

22 March 2012

Two winning science experiments chosen from over thousands of student entries were announced today in Washington DC, USA. The experiments on insect behaviour and bacteria will be performed on the International Space Station and streamed to the world, live.

The winners in the 14- to 16-year-old category are Dorothy and Sara from Detroit, Michigan, USA. Their experiment will send a bacterium into space to see if weightless conditions alter its effectiveness as a fungicide.

In the 17- to 18-year-old category, Amr from Egypt was chosen based on his proposal to study how the Zebra spider will adapt to life on the Space Station.

A panel of prestigious scientists, astronauts and teachers, including astronauts Frank De Winne, Samantha Cristoforetti and Timothy Peake of ESA, Leland Melvin of NASA, Akihiko Hoshide of JAXA, Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency and Cirque du Soleil's founder Guy Laliberté, judged the entries with input from the YouTube community.

Spoilt for choice

Finalists

Two prizes have been selected for the winners to choose from. They can choose to go to Japan to watch their experiment lift off or, if they are patient, the winners can choose a one-of-a-kind astronaut training experience.

To take part in the training, the participants must be at least 18 years old. They will travel to Star City, Russia, the training centre for all Russian cosmonauts.

Special ESA prize for European winners

European Astronaut Centre

In addition to these awards, regional winners from Europe, the Middle East and Africa are invited to ESA’s European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany on 16 May to discuss their experiments directly with ESA astronauts, followed by a hands-on tour of the European training facilities.

To make the visit even more memorable, ESA astronaut André Kuipers will call from the International Space Station for an exclusive talk with the finalists.

Space Lab is sponsored by YouTube, Lenovo and Space Adventures together with ESA, NASA and the Japanese space agency.